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COMMISSION    ON    BUILDING 
DISTRICTS  AND  RESTRICTION^ 

TENTATIVE   REPORT 

MARCH    lo,   1916 


CITY    OV'NEW    YORK 
BOARD  OF.  ESTIMATiTaNI:)  APPORTIONMENT 


n\c:'^'\^b\'^'X 


COMMISSION    ON    BUILDING 
DISTRICTS  AND  RESTRICTIONS 

TENTATIVE   REPORT 

MARCH   10,  1916 


CITY    OF   NEW   YORK 
BOARD  OF  ESTIMATE  AND  APPORTIONMENT 

1916 


Commission  on  Building  Districts  and  Restrictions 

Edward   M.   Bassett,   Chairman 
Lawson  Purdy,  V ice-Chairman 
Edward  C.  Blum  Alfred  E.  Marling 

James  E.  Clonin  George  T.  Mortimer 

Otto  M,  Eidlitz  J.  F.  Smith 

Burt  L.  Fenner  Walter  Stabler 

Edward  R.  Hardy  Franklin  S.  Tomlin 

Richard  W.  Lawrence  George  C.  Whipple 

Alrick  H.  Man  William  G.  Willcox 

Robert  H,  Whitten,  Secretary 


.      COMMITTEES 

Borough  of  Manhattan — Walter  Stabler,  Chairman;  Otto  M.  Eidlitz, 

Alfred  E.  Marling,  George  T.  Mortimer. 
Borough  of  The  Bronx — Richard  W.  Lawrence,  Chairman;  Edward  R. 

Hardy,  Alfred  E.  Marling. 
Borough  of  Brooklyn — Franklin   S.  Tomlin,  Chairman;  Edward  C. 

Blum,  Lawson  Purdy. 
Borough  of  Queens — Alrick  H.  Man,  Chairman;  James  E.  Clonin, 

Burt  L.  Fenner. 
Borough  of  Richmond — William  G.  Willcox,  Chairman;  J.  F.  Smith, 

George  C.  Whipple. 


STAFF 

Robert  H.  Whitten,  Secretary 
George  B.  Ford,  Consultant 
John  P.  Fox,  Transit  Expert 
Herbert  S.  Swan,  Investigator 
George  W.  Tuttle,  Assistant  Engineer 
Edward  M.  Law,  Assistant  Engineer 


TENTATIVE  REPORT 
Commission  on  Building  Districts  and  Restrictions 

March  lo,  1916. 
To  the  Board  of  Estimate  and  Apportionment: 

The  work  of  the  Heights  of  Buildings  Commission,  appointed  Feb- 
ruary 27,  1913,  by  the  Board  of  Estimate  and  Apportionment,  brought 
about  the  amendment  to  the  City  Charter  (sections  242a  and  242b)  adopt- 
ed in  1914,  conferring  on  the  Board  of  Estimate  and  Apportionment 
power  to  district  the  city  for  the  purpose  of  regulating  the  height  of 
buildings,  the  area  of  courts  and  yards,  the  location  of  trades  and  indus- 
tries and  the  location  of  buildings  designed  for  specified  uses.  The  amend- 
ment provides  that  before  exercising  such  power  the  Board  shall  appoint 
a  commission  "to  recommend  the  boundaries  of  districts  and  appropriate 
regulations  to  be  enforced  therein."  Pursuant  thereto  the  Board  on  May 
22,  1914,  appointed  the  Commission  on  Building  Districts  and  Restric- 
tions. The  Charter  amendment  directs  the  Commission,  before  submit- 
ting a  final  report,  to  make  "a  tentative  report  and  hold  public  hearings 
thereon"  at  such  times  and  places  as  the  Board  shall  require.  The 
Commission  begs  to  submit  the  following  tentative  report: 

The  present  almost  unrestricted  power  to  build  to  any  height,  over 
any  portion  of  the  lot,  for  any  desired  use  and  in  any  part  of  the  city, 
has  resulted  in  injury  both  to  the  health,  safety  and  general  welfare  of 
the  city  and  to  real  estate  and  business  interests.  Light,  air  and  access 
have  been  impaired  by  high  buildings,  by  failure  to  provide  adequate 
courts  and  yards,  by  the  proximity  of  inappropriate  or  nuisance  build- 
ings and  uses.  A  certain  degree  of  order  and  system  in  building  develop- 
ment is  essential  both  from  the  point  of  view  of  public  health,  safety  and 
welfare  and  that  of  the  conservation  of  property  values. 

In  working  out  a  districting  plan,  the  Commission  is  planning  the 
future  city.  In  city  building,  as  in  most  things,  even  a  poor  plan  is 
better  than  no  plan  at  all.  A  city  can,  if  necessary,  accommodate  itself 
to  the  crudities  and  imperfections  of  a  physical  plan  just  as  it  can  adapt 
itself  to  the  rivers,  hills  and  valleys  that  form  its  physical  environment ; 
but  haphazard  city  development  without  any  plan  or  control  is  ruinous. 
Of  course,  even  without  a  plan,  there  are  strong  social  and  economic 
forces  that  tend  to  a  certain  degree  of  order  and  segregation  in  building 
development.  But  these  natural  forces  are  not  strong  enough  to  pre- 
vent haphazard  development — to  prevent  the  invasion  of  a  district  by 
inappropriate  uses  that  are  destructive  of  the  highest  use  of  the  district. 


They  are  certainly  not  strong  enough  to  ensure  the  building  of  the  city 
in  a  stable  and  orderly  manner  and  with  some  regard  for  the  amenities  of 
city  life. 

The  bigger  a  city  grows  the  mor«  essential  a  plan  becomes.  Traffic 
problems,  the  congestion  of  population,  the  necessity  for  an  intensive  use 
of  land,  the  magnitude  of  the  property  values  affected  make  the  control 
of  building  development  more  and  more  essential  to  the  health,  comfort 
and  welfare  of  the  city  and  its  inhabitants.  New  York  City  has  certainly 
reached  a  point  beyond  which  continued  unplanned  growth  cannot  take 
place  without  inviting  social  and  economic  disaster.  It  is  too  big  a  city, 
the  social  and  economic  interests  involved  are  too  great  to  permit  the 
continuance  of  the  laissez  faire  methods  of  earlier  days.  There  is  too 
much  at  stake  to  permit  a  mere  habit  of  thought  as  to  private  property 
rights  to  stand  in  the  way  of  a  plan  that  is  essential  to  the  health,  order 
and  welfare  of  the  entire  city  and  to  the  conservation  of  property  values. 

Through  haphazard  construction  and  invasion  by  inappropriate  uses 
the  capital  values  of  large  areas  have  been  greatly  impaired.  This 
destruction  of  capital  value,  not  only  in  the  central  commercial  and  indus- 
trial section  of  Manhattan,  but  also  throughout  the  residential  sections  of 
the  five  boroughs,  has  reached  huge  proportions.  It  does  not  stop  with 
the  owners  in  the  areas  immediately  aflFected,  but  is  reflected  in  depressed 
values  throughout  the  city.  Market  value  for  investment  purposes  is 
always  affected  by  the  hazard  of  the  business.  Economic  depreciation 
due  to  unregulated  construction  and  invasion  by  inappropriate  uses  has 
become  a  hazard  that  must  be  considered  by  every  investor  in  real  estate. 
This  extra  hazard  increases  the  net  earning  basis  required  to  induce 
investment  and  consequently  lessens  capital  values  throughout  the  city. 
Whatever  the  capitalized  amount  that  may  properly  be  charged  to  the 
economic  depreciation  hazard,  it  is  certainly  a  huge  burden  and  one  that 
affects  not  only  the  individual  owners  of  real  estate  throughout  the  city 
but  the  savings  and  other  large  lending  institutions,  the  municipal 
finances  and  the  general  welfare  and  prosperity  of  the  whole  city. 

With  some  eight  billions  already  invested  in  New  York  City  real 
estate  and  the  certainty  of  added  billions  in  the  coming  years,  a  plan 
of  city  building  that  will  tend  to  conserve  and  protect  property  values 
becomes  of  vital  importance  not  only  to  individual  owners  but  to  the 
community  as  a  whole.  Why  not  protect  the  areas  as  yet  unspoiled  and 
insure  that  the  hundreds  of  millions  that  will  be  spent  in  the  improve- 
ment of  real  estate  in  the  coming  years  shall  be  spent  for  the  permanent 
upbuilding  of  a  great  and  ever  greater  city?  Permanence  and  stability 
can  only  be  secured  by  a  far-sighted  building  plan  that  will  harmonize 
the  private  interests  of  owners  and  the  health,  safety  and  convenience  of 
the  public. 

There  is  an  intimate  and  necessary  relation  between  conservation 
of  property  values   as  here  proposed  and   the   conservation   of  public 


health,  safety  and  general  welfare.  Throughout  a  city  the  areas  in  which 
values  have  been  depressed  by  the  invasion  of  inappropriate  uses  or 
lack  of  building  control  as  to  height,  courts  and  open  spaces,  are  the 
areas  in  which  the  worst  conditions  as  to  sanitation  and  safety  prevail 
and  where  there  is  the  greatest  violation  of  the  things  essential  to  public 
comfort,  convenience  and  order.  The  dechne  in  property  value  in  such 
districts  is  merely  an  economic  index  of  the  disregard  of  essential  stand- 
ards of  public  health,  safety  and  convenience  in  building  development. 
Moreover,  a  depressed  district  of  changing  occupancy  is  almost  always 
a  district  in  which  unwholesome  home  and  work  conditions  prevail.  The 
old  building  altered  to  suit  a  new  use  is  usually  very  faulty  in  light,  air 
and  sanitation.  Declining  values  make  it  difficult  or  impossible  to  enforce 
proper  standards.  These  depressed  districts  create  the  most  difficult 
and  perplexing  problems  in  the  establishment  and  administration  of 
housing  and  factory  regulations. 

Every  city  becomes  divided  into  more  or  less  clearly  defined  dis- 
tricts of  different  occupation,  use  and  type  of  building  construction.  We 
have  the  central  office  and  financial  district,  loft  districts,  waterfront  and 
industrial  districts,  retail  business  districts,  apartment  house  and  hotel 
districts,  tenement  house  districts,  private  dwelling  districts.  Generally 
speaking,  a  building  is  appropriately  located  when"  it  is  in  a  section  sur- 
rounded by  buildings  of  similar  type  and  use.  Strong  social  and  econ- 
omic forces  work  toward  a  natural  segregation  of  buildings  according  to 
type  and  use.  In  general,  the  maximum  land  values  and  the  maximum 
rentals  are  obtained  where  this  segregation  and  uniformity  are  most 
complete.  One  purpose  of  districting  regulations  is  to  strengthen  and 
supplement  the  natural  trend  toward  segregation. 

In  spite  of  the  natural  trend  toward  segregation,  building  develop- 
ment in  many  parts  of  the  city  is  haphazard.  The  natural  trend  toward 
segregation  and  uniformity  is  not  strong  enough  to  prevent  the  sporadic 
invasion  of  a  district  by  harmful  or  inappropriate  buildings  or  uses.  Once 
a  district  has  been  thus  invaded,  rents  and  property  values  decline,  and 
it  is  difficult  ever  to  reclaim  the  district  to  its  more  appropriate  use. 
Individual  property  owners  are  helpless  to  prevent  the  depreciation  of 
their  property.  The  districting  plan  will  do  for  the  individual  owners 
what  they  cannot  do  for  themselves — set  up  uniform  restrictions  that  will 
protect  each  against  his  neighbor  and  thus  be  of  benefit  to  all. 

While  in  New  York  City  economic  forces  tend  to  the  segregation  of 
industries  of  the  heavier  type  along  the  water  and  rail  terminals,  and 
to  the  segregation  of  certain  light  industries  near  the  wholesale,  retail, 
hotel  and  passenger  terminal  center  in  Manhattan,  there  are  many 
kinds  of  light  industry  that  are  free  from  any  segregating  force  and 
locate  indiscriminately  throughout  the  city.  They  are  found  scattered 
throughout  the  business  and  residential  sections,  especially  the  resi- 
dential sections  from  which  their  labor  supply  is  recruited.    The  factory 


is  a  blight  on  the  residential  section.  It  destroys  the  comfort,  quiet  and 
convenience  of  home  life.  There  is  nothing  more  vital  to  the  city  than 
the  housing  of  its  people.  There  is  nothing  more  essential  to  wholesome 
and  comfortable  housing  than  the  exclusion  of  trade  and  industries  from 
the  residential  streets.  Stores,  garages  and  other  business  buildings 
scattered  among  the  residences  are  a  constant  menace  to  residence  prop- 
erty. The  concentration  of  all  the  neighborhood  business  buildings  on 
the  business  streets  makes  the  transaction  of  business  more  convenient. 
The  segregation  of  dwellings  on  t'lc  exclusively  residential  streets  adds 
to  the  convenience,  quiet,  attractiveness  and  amenities  of  home  life,  and 
thus  tends  to  increase  property  values  on  such  streets. 

The  traffic  induced  by  business  buildings  or  factories  tends  to  make 
the  streets  unsafe  places  for  the  children  to  play.  In  our  crowded  tene- 
ment districts  the  streets  swarm  with  children.  They  must  have  some 
place  to  play,  and,  unfortunately,  there  is  usually  no  place  but  the  street. 
In  such  a  district  the  use  of  the  street  for  play  purposes  is  one  of  the 
most  important  public  uses  that  the  street  serves.  If  the  traffic  induced 
by  business  or  factory  buildings  interferes  with  this  important  public 
use,  there  is  an  added  justification  in  the  interest  of  the  public  health 
and  safety  of  so  regulating  the  future  location  of  business  and  factory 
buildings  that  they  will  not  interfere  with  the  necessary  use  of  the  streets 
by  the  children. 

The  safety  of  the  residential  sections  should  be  guarded  with  special 
care.  Stores,  garages  and  industrial  buildings  scattered  among  the  resi- 
dences increase  the  danger  from  fire  and  explosion.  This  fact  alone  justi- 
fies the  setting  aside  of  strictly  residential  areas  wherever  feasible. 

The  problem  of  congestion  of  population  is  closely  related  to  the 
location  of  trades  and  industries.  Employees  working  long  hours  at 
low  wages  can  afford  neither  the  time  nor  the  money  to  live  far  from 
their  work.  It  has  been  shown  that  a  very  large  proportion  of  such 
employees  will  live  within  walking  distance  of  their  work,  even  though 
this  necessitates  their  living  in  the  most  congested  and  unwholesome 
quarters.  While  the  proposed  plan  for  residential  and  industrial  dis- 
tricts will  not  cure  existing  conditions  it  will  help  to  prevent  an  exten- 
sion of  such  conditions.  This  is  insured  by  providing  adequate  housing 
areas  adjacent  to  the  factory  areas  and  preventing  for  the  future  the 
encroachment  by  the  factories  on  areas  required  for  housing. 

Height  and  Area  Districting 

The  maximum  beneficial  use  of  any  given  block  or  area  is  also 
largely  dependent  on  a  certain  measure  of  uniformity  in  its  development 
as  regards  height,  yards  and  open  spaces.  Such  use  would,  in  general, 
be  enhanced  if  the  property  owners  could  enter  into  an  agreement  uni- 
formly restricting  the  height  of  buildings  and  fixing  the  minimum  area  of 
courts  and  yards.    The  size  of  courts  and  yards  is  in  most  cases  of  as 


much  benefit  to  a  man's  neighbors  as  to  himself.  It  is  therefore  appro- 
priate that  each  should  contribute  in  substantial  equality  to  the  common 
stock  of  light  and  air.  There  can  be  no  maintenance  of  wholesome  con- 
ditions of  light  and  air  and  no  stability  of  values  if  each  individual  owner 
is  at  liberty  to  build  to  any  height  and  over  any  proportion  of  his  lot 
without  regard  to  his  appropriate  and  reasonable  contribution  to  the 
light  and  air  of  the  block. 

The  speculative  builder  puts  up  the  first  high  l)uilding  in  a  block. 
The  windows  are  on  property  lines  or  on  narrow  courts.  Perhaps  a  five- 
foot  rear  yard  is  provided.  But  with  all  the  free  space  on  the  adjacent 
lots  the  building  is  light  and  airy,  is  attractive  to  tenants  and  shows  a 
good  return  to  the  purchaser.  Other  buildings  follow  and  their  builders 
see  no  reason  why  they  should  keep  down  lower  or  provide  larger  yards 
or  courts  than  the  first.  The  result  is  tragic  from  either  a  private  or  a 
public  point  of  view. 

All  this  has  been  conclusively  demonstrated  by  costly  experience  in 
the  recent  history  of  the  office  and  loft  building  sections  of  Manhattan. 
Whole  areas  have  been  built  up  piecemeal  with  towering  buildings  having 
inadequate  courts  and  yards  without  much  thought  of  ultimate  conse- 
quences. Such  areas  are  in  process  of  being  smothered  by  their  own 
growth.  The  streets  are  inadequate  to  handle  the  traffic  induced  by  the 
multiplication  of  floor  area  to  be  served  and  the  buildings  constructed 
without  reference  to  the  width  of  the  streets,  yards  and  courts  on  which 
they  abut  shut  out  light  and  air  essential  to  rental  on  a  basis  that  will 
permit  of  a  reasonable  return  on  the  investment. 

The  social  and  economic  desirability  of  limited  height  and  minimum 
court  and  yard  provisions  has  been  clearly  established  by  apartment 
house  construction  under  the  Tenement  House  Law.  Had  similar  regu- 
lations been  applied  to  the  office  and  loft  buildings,  great  loss  would  have 
been  prevented.  All  agree  that  the  Tenement  House  Law  accomplished 
a  most  desirable  reform  in  the  interest  both  of  owners  and  tenants  in 
establishing  regulations  as  to  height,  area  covered,  yards  and  courts.  In 
exclusively  residential  blocks  in  certain  of  the  more  intensively  developed 
sections  light  and  air  conditions  have  been  standardized  and  property 
values  stabilized  by  ensuring  that  each  owner  shall  make  a  reasonable 
contribution  to  the  light  and  air  of  the  block. 

Only  by  a  complete  districting  plan  can  the  mutually  advantageous 
principle  contained  in  the  Tenement  House  Law  be  applied  to  all  kinds 
of  buildings,  in  all  parts  of  the  city.  There  must  first  be  a  partial  segre- 
gation of  buildings  according  to  use  and,  second,  a  gradation  of  height, 
court  and  yard  provisions,  particularly  as  affecting  residential  buildings, 
in  accordance  with  the  present  and  prospective  intensity  of  use  in  the 
various  sections  of  the  city. 

Laws  establishing  regulations  for  particular  types  of  buildings  are 
often  rendered  partially  ineffective  because  they  fail  to  control  the  envir- 


onment  of  the  building.  The  Tenement  House  Law  provides  for  mini- 
mum size  yards  and  outer  courts  that  really  depend  for  their  adequacy 
on  their  being  supplemented  by  similar  yards  and  courts  on  adjoining 
lots.  If,  however,  a  towering  loft  building  or  warehouse  is  built  next 
to  a  tenement,  the  standards  of  light  and  air  aimed  at  in  the  Tenement 
House  Law  are  impaired.  The  districting  plan  makes  it  possible  to  pro- 
vide suitable  and  reasonable  regulations  for  each  class  of  buildings  and 
at  the  same  time  preserve  the  advantage  of  substantially  uniform  regula- 
tion as  to  height  and  yard  for  all  buildings  within  the  block. 

Tenants  move  away  from  the  congested  centers  in  order  to  secure 
better  light  and  air.  But  if  after  a  few  years  the  bright  sunny  building 
to  which  they  have  moved  becomes  surrounded  by  buildings  similar  in 
height,  yard  and  court  provisions  to  the  building  in  the  congested  center 
in  which  they  were  formerly  located,  the  desirability  of  the  new  location 
for  this  class  of  tenants  disappears  and  rentable  values  are  likely  to  be 
seriously  impaired.  A  proper  districting  plan  will  insure  that  wherever 
probable  intensity  of  demand  will  permit,  a  certain  measure  of  the 
improved  light  and  air  conditions  that  have  attracted  tenants  to  the  new 
location  shall  be  permanently  retained.  In  establishing  light  and  air 
provisions  the  district  plan  will  not  usually  go  as  far  and  will  in  no  case 
go  further  than  the  purely  economic  standard  indicated  by  the  mutual 
advantage  of  property  owners  and  tenants. 

A  districting  plan  should  look  to  the  future  and  take  into  considera- 
tion the  types  of  development  appropriate  for  the  increasing  intensity 
of  use  required  by  a  growing  city.  Improved  transit  facilities  will  be 
developed,  the  commuting  centers  for  some  60  miles  around  will  doubt- 
less continue  to  grow  in  increasing  ratio,  new  industrial  and  business 
centers  will  grow  up,  but  the  great  bulk  of  the  population  will  continue 
to  be  housed  within  a  five-cent  fare  and  a  thirty  to  forty-minute  ride  of 
the  central  business  district  in  Manhattan. 

The  demand  for  housing  is  naturally  greatest  in  the  most  favorable 
locations.  Were  it  not  for  the  ability  to  multiply  housing  area  by  placing 
one  dwelling  on  top  of  another,  rents  would  be  prohibitive  in  these  fav- 
ored locations  for  practically  all  those  who  now  occupy  apartments  or 
flats.  It  is  natural  that  the  intensity  of  the  demand  for  housing  should 
vary  in  the  different  parts  of  a  given  city,  the  general  tendency  being, 
starting  with  the  highest  intensity  of  demand  near  the  center,  for  this 
demand  to  fall  rapidly  toward  the  periphery  of  the  city.  As  the  city 
grows  the  intensity  of  the  demand  in  its  various  parts  will  usually 
increase.  To  avoid  the  continuous  reconstruction  of  existing  buildings 
and  the  evils  and  misfits  often  resulting  from  the  conversion  of  old  build- 
ings to  new  uses,  it  is  undesirable  to  base  a  districting  plan  on  the  type  of 
construction  appropriate  to  the  present-moment  intensity  of  use.  As 
the  city  is  growing,  that  fact  should  be  taken  into  consideration  and 
types  of  construction  authorized  appropriate  for  any  intensity  of  use  that 

8 


will  probably  be  demanded  and  socially  justifiable  within  25  or  50  years. 
A  city  that  is  not  built  with  referance  to  probable  future  growth  must 
be  rebuilt  time  and  again  at  enormous  expense. 

Limitations  of  Districting  Plan 

An  ideal  districting  plan  would  disregard  existing  conditions,  re- 
quire the  removal  of  inappropriate  buildings  and  uses,  bring  back  de- 
pressed districts  to  their  more  appropriate  use,  sacrifice  the  vested  rights 
of  the  individual  owner  for  the  improvement  and  beautification  of  the 
district  and  city.  It  is  readily  apparent  that  much  could  properly  be 
done  in  this  way  if  some  method  were  provided  for  compensating  the 
individual  owners  for  actual  injury  suffered.  Probably  a  method  of 
locally  assessing  benefits  and  damages  could  be  worked  out.  Such  a 
a  method  would  seem  quite  appropriate,  for  example,  if  it  were  a  ques- 
tion of  preserving  the  beauty  of  a  public  park  or  boulevard,  or  securing 
the  removal  of  an  existing  factory  or  store.  On  the  other  hand,  certain 
regulations  can  be  established  which  will  be  to  the  mutual  advantage  of 
all  property  owners  and  of  great  public  benefit.  No  question  of  compen- 
sation for  individual  injury  can  arise  as  existing  values  are  conserved  and 
improved.  Of  course,  under  the  police  power,  reasonable  and  appropri- 
ate regulations  demanded  in  the  interest  of  public  health,  safety  and 
general  welfare  may  be  enforced  without  compensating  the  individual 
owner  for  incidental  injury  or  expense  involved.  The  extent  to  which 
this  power  may  be  used  for  districting  purposes  has  not  as  yet  been 
authoritatively  adjudicated  in  this  State.  The  proposed  districting  plan 
has  therefore  been  limited  to  such  features  as  it  seemed  must  certainly 
appeal  to  the  courts  as  being  well  within  the  reasonable  scope  of  the 
police  power.  The  plan  is  substantially  limited  to  regulations  which, 
while  essential  to  the  public  health,  safety  and  general  welfare,  are  at 
the  same  time  of  mutual  advantage  to  all  property  owners.  They  will 
conserve  and  tend  to  improve  values  throughout  the  city.  This  conserv- 
ative use  of  the  districting  power  will  not  accomplish  many  things  that 
are  doubtless  important  in  the  interest  of  well-ordered  city  growth,  but 
the  plan  as  outlined  will  constitute  the  most  important  step  yet  taken 
by  any  American  city  toward  the  direction  of  its  building  development 
in  accord  with  a  well-considered  plan. 

Use  Districts 

A  tentative  draft  of  a  resolution  and  accompanying  tentative  maps 
are  submitted  establishing  residence  districts  and  business  districts  for 
the  Boroughs  of  Manhattan.  Brooklyn,  The  Bronx,  Queens  and  Rich- 
mond. 

In  a  "residence  district."  only  building.^  with  their  usual  accessories 
designed  for  the  following  specified  uses  mar  be  constructed :  Private 


residences  and  apartments;  hotels;  private  clubs;  religious,  educational, 
curative  and  philanthropic  buildings  and  institutions. 

In  a  "business  district,"  a  list  of  specified  industries  and  uses  of  a 
clearly  objectionable  character  are  excluded,  as  are  also  all  other  uses 
that  are  noxious  or  offensive  by  reason  of  the  emission  of  noise,  odor, 
dust  or  gas.  An  exception,  however,  is  made  in  the  case  of  garages, 
livery  stables,  car  barns  and  places  of  amusement.  While  it  would  seem 
desirable  to  keep  public  garages  off  of  business  streets,  public  conven- 
ience seems  to  require  their  location  in  close  proximity  to  the  residential 
and  local  business  areas.  The  larger  type  of  factory  is  excluded  from  the 
business  districts  by  limiting  the  floor  space  that  may  be  occupied  for 
factory  uses  in  any  one  building  in  a  business  district  to  25  per  cent  of 
the  total  floor  space  of  the  building,  but  floor  space  equal  to  twice  the 
ground  floor  area  of  the  building  may  in  any  case  be  so  used. 

The  proposed  regulations  apply  only  to  future  buildings  and  uses, 
and  do  not  interfere  with  any  existing  structure  or  occupancy. 

The  remaining  portions  of  the  city  not  included  in  the  residence 
or  business  districts  are  left  unrestricted  as  to  use.  These  include  large 
areas  chiefly  along  the  waterfront  and  railroads  where  an  industrial  use 
either  exists  or  is  anticipated,  and  also  certain  large  areas  in  the  undevel- 
oped sections  where  either  a  residential  or  industrial  use  may  prove  the 
more  appropriate,  depending  largely  on  future  port  and  terminal  develop- 
ments. 

In  residential  neighborhoods  the  plan  has  been  to  preserve  the  side 
streets  wherever  possible  for  strictly  residential  use.  The  avenues  along 
the  ends  of  the  block  and  main  thoroughfares  have  usually  been  included 
in  the  business  districts.  The  business  use  on  the  avenue  is  permitted 
to  extend  100  feet  back  along  the  residential  side  streets.  In  the  less 
developed  sections  it  has  often  seemed  feasible  to  indicate  only  every 
second  or  third  avenue  for  business  use  and  thus  secure  a  larger  and 
more  attractive  and  self-contained  residential  area.  This  it  is  believed 
will  improve  living  conditions  and  will  conserve  values  on  both  the 
business  and  the  residence  streets. 

The  districting  plan  divides  the  city  into  residence  districts,  busi- 
ness districts  and  unrestricted  areas.  Further  subdivision  could  doubtless 
be  made  with  advantage  in  particular  cases.  The  uses  that  are  inappro- 
priate on  a  local  retail  business  street  depend  somewhat  on  the  character 
of  the  adjacent  residential  population.  The  uses  that  are  inappropriate 
in  a  light  manufacturing  district  are  not  necessarily  the  same  as  in  the 
case  of  a  heavy  manufacturing  district.  Various  uses  that  are  often  some- 
what harmful  in  residence  or  business  distrcts  have  nevertheless  been 
included  therein  for  lack  of  a  better  place  and  to  avoid  creating  addi- 
tional classes.  It  seemed  that  the  districting  plan  should  be  along  quite 
broad  general  lines,  and  that  the  establishment  of  three  kinds  of  dis- 
tricts, residence,  business  and  unrestricted,  while  leaving  much  to  be 

10 


desired,  would,  as  compared  with  existing  conditions,  give  a  really 
remarkable  degree  of  order  and  stability  to  the  growth  and  development 
of  the  city. 

The  aim  has  been  to  give  the  greatest  possible  freedom  of  action 
and  to  avoid  restrictions  that  may  possibly  hinder  future  growth  and 
development.  While  it  is  realized  that  this  can  only  be  partially  suc- 
cessful and  that  any  regulations  now  imposed  will  have  to  be  changed 
from  time  to  time,  it  seemed  important  that  they  should  be  so  designed 
as  to  insure  as  high  a  degree  of  permanence  as  is  at  present  practicable. 

No  comprehensive  plan  for  the  future  physical  development  of  the 
city  has  as  yet  been  worked  out.  A  comprehensive  plan  of  port  and  ter- 
minal facilities  has  not  been  determined  upon.  Future  park  devel- 
opment, especially  along  the  waterfronts,  has  not  been  suffi- 
ciently studied.  Future  extensions  and  surface  line  feeders  for  the  dual 
subway  system  have  not  been  determined.  All  this  makes  the  probable 
or  desirable  uses  of  various  areas  exceedingly  uncertain.  This  is  par- 
ticularly true  of  large  areas  along  the  waterfronts  in  the  more  undevel- 
oped sections,  particularly  the  enormous  areas  around  Jamaica  Bay,  the 
region  around  Gravesend  Bay  and  the  South  Shore  waterfront  of  Rich- 
mond. Accordingly,  these  and  a  number  of  similar  areas  have  been  left 
undetermined  and  therefore  unrestricted.  They  differ  from  most  of  the 
other  unrestricted  areas  chiefly  in  that  it  is  anticipated  that  when  their 
appropriate  use  is  more  fully  disclosed  it  may  seem  wise  to  restrict  them 
in  part  to  business  or  residence  use. 

It  is  particularly  important  that  the  tentative  designation  of  the  busi- 
ness streets  in  the  residential  sections  should  receive  the  very  careful 
study  of  local  civic  associations  and  property  owners.  Their  intimate 
knowledge  of  local  conditions  and  requirements  is  essential  to  the  perfec- 
tion of  the  plan.  Thus  far  the  principal  criticism  has  been  that  too  many 
business  streets  were  provided.  A  careful  study  of  the  plan  by  ihe  locali- 
ties affected  will  probably  lead  to  the  elimination  of  certain  of  the  pro- 
posed business  streets  with  advantage  to  the  future  development  of  the 
residential  sections  affected. 

Height  Districts 

A  tentative  draft  resolution  and  accompanymg  tentative  maps  are 
submitted  establishing  height  and  area  districts  for  the  five  boroughs. 

Five  classes  of  height  districts  are  provided  limiting  the  height  of 
the  building  at  the  street  line  to  a  varying  multiple  of  the  street  width. 
These  multiples  vary  from  two  and  one-half  times  the  street  width  in 
the  office  and  financial  section  of  Manhattan  to  one  times  the  street  width 
in  the  more  undeveloped  sections  of  Brooklyn,  The  Bronx,  Queens  and 
Richmond. 

Back  of  the  street  wall,  the  height  of  which  is  limited  by  a  multiple 
of  the  street  width,  the  building  may  go  higher,  but  not  beyond  the  line 

II 


SECTION   2.  -  HEIGHT  LIMITS    -      I'/^TIMES    DISTRICTS 


SAME  PjewCIPLES  APPLY  IN  EACH  OF  THE 

OTNEe  TYPES  OF  DISTeiCrS. 

SETBAC/fS  MAY  BE  AT  EACH  STOPY 
Oe  SEYEBAL  STOe/ES  AT  ONCE  oe 
IN  THE  FOJIM  OF  A  AiANSAADE. 


INTERIOR 
BUILDINS 
WITH  SETBACK 


INTERIOR 
BUILDING 
RUNNIN6  THROUGH 
FROM  STREET  TO 
STREET 


12 


formed  by  the  extension  of  a  line  drawn  from  the  center  of  the  street 
to  the  limiting  height  of  the  street  wall.  This  will  permit  the  construc- 
tion of  mansards  or  of  vertical  walls  provided  they  are  set  back  in  a  pre- 
scribed ratio  so  as  to  keep  within  set-back  provisions.  This  will  give  a 
much  greater  freedom  of  building  construction  than  a  flat  limitation  of 
height.  It  will  allow  any  height  of  building  back  of  the  street  line  that 
will  not  interfere  with  the  prescribed  angle  of  light.  Towers  covering 
not  over  25  per  cent  of  the  lot  and  unlimited  as  to  height  are  also  per- 
mitted provided  they  conform  to  certain  regulations  as  to  set-back  from 
lot  lines. 

In  limiting  the  height  of  all  buildings  in  relation  to  width  of  the 
streets  on  which  they  abut,  the  Commission  has  adopted  a  principle 
which  for  a  great  many  years  (since  1885)  has  been  applied  to  tenement 
house  construction  in  New  York  City.  It  has  also  been  extensively 
applied  in  European  cities.  It  has  evident  advantages  over  a  flat  limita- 
tion that  operates  without  regard  to  the  width  of  the  street.  The  Com- 
mission has,  however,  modified  the  strict  application  of  this  principle 
by  providing  that  for  the  purpose  of  computing  the  limiting  height  on 
the  multiple  of  street  width  basis  a  street  less  than  50  feet  wide  shall  be 
considered  to  be  50  feet  wide,  and  a  street  more  than  100  feet  wide  shall 
be  considered  to  be  but  100  feet  wide. 

The  only  district  in  which  a  height  of  two  and  one-half  times  the 
street  width  is  proposed  is  in  the  office  and  financial  section  in  lower 
Manhattan.  A  height  of  two  times  the  street  width  is  allowed  for  the 
remaining  portions  of  the  more  intensively  developed  commercial  and 
industrial  sections  in  a  broad  belt  through  the  center  of  the  Island  from 
the  lower  office  and  financial  section  to  59th  Street.  An  exception  is 
made  for  a  portion  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  section  where  limits  of  one  and 
one-quarter  and  one  and  one-half  times  the  street  width  are  proposed. 
A  height  of  two  times  the  street  width  is  allowed  for  a  narrow  belt  along 
a  large  portion  of  the  waterfront  of  Manhattan  and  along  the  East  River 
waterfront  of  Brooklyn,  Queens  and  The  Bronx :  also  for  a  small  area 
around  the  chief  office  and  business  center  of  Brooklyn.  In  the  two-times 
districts  on  a  60-foot  street  the  building  can  go  up  120  feet  or  about  10 
stories  at  the  building  line  and  above  that  height  by  setting  back  12  feet 
can  go  4  stories  higher.  On  a  loo-foot  street  the  building  can  go  up 
200  feet,  or  about  16  stories  at  the  building  line,  and  above  that  height 
with  a  12-foot  set-back  can  go  4  stories  higher. 

Tenement  and  apartment  houses  throughout  the  city  are  now  limited 
to  a  height  of  1J/2  times  the  street  width.  The  proposed  plan  takes  the 
I  Vj  times  rule  of  the  Tenement  House  Law  and  applies  it  to  substantially 
all  the  remaining  portions  of  the  city  that  are  intensively  built  up  at 
present  or  that  will  be  brought  within  about  thirty  minutes  by  the  new 
rapid  transit  system  to  the  central  office  and  commercial  districts  of 
Manhattan.    One  and  one-half  times  the  street  width  is  also  allowed  for 

13 


a  narrow  belt  along  the  waterfront  in  many  of  the  as  yet  undeveloped 
areas  where  a  somewhat  intensive  future  development  of  the  waterfront 
is  anticipated. 

All  the  other  portions  of  the  city,  including  the  more  remote  and 
less  developed  sections,  and  those  which  in  general  are  more  than  thirty 
minutes  from  the  Manhattan  commercial  centers  by  the  new  rapid  transit 
system,  are  placed  in  the  one-times  district.  Here  the  height  limit  for 
buildings  on  the  street  line  is  one  times  the  width  of  the  street.  This, 
however,  will  permit  of  a  five-story  building  on  a  6o-foot  street,  and  an 
eight  or  nine-story  building  on  a  lOO-foot  street.  By  taking  advantage 
of  the  set-back  provision,  one  or  more  stories  of  additional  height  may  be 
secured. 

Area  Covered — Yards  and  Courts 

In  establishing  districts  prescribing  minimum  yards,  courts  and  open 
spaces,  the  Commission  has  attempted  to  insure  that  each  owner  shall 
make  a  reasonable  contribution  to  the  light  and  air  of  the  block.  The 
plan  has  been  based,  first,  on  the  partial  segregation  of  buildings  accord- 
ing to  use,  and  second,  on  a  gradation  of  court  and  yard  provisions,  par- 
ticularly as  affecting  residential  buildings  in  accordance  with  the  present 
and  prospective  intensity  of  use  in  various  sections  of  the  city.  Five 
classes  of  area  districts  are  proposed.  The  court  and  yard  requirements 
are,  in  most  districts,  more  stringent  in  the  case  of  residential  buildings 
than  of  non-residential  buildings.  A  residential  building  is  a  building  used 
exclusively  for  residence  purposes  or  a  building  used  in  part  only  for 
residence  purposes  containing  apartments  for  more  than  two  families. 
All  other  buildings  are  non-residential.  Under  this  definition  a  store 
with  only  two  apartments  above  is  classed  as  a  non-residential  building. 
This  definition  of  "residential"  and  "non-residential"  is  for  the  purposes 
of  the  court  and  yard  regulations  only,  and  does  not  relate  to  the  char- 
acter of  buildings  that  may  be  erected  in  a  residence  district. 

A-Districts:  In  the  A-Districts  no  yard  is  required  and  no  court  is 
required  unless  necessary  to  light  the  workrooms  in  the  building.  This 
is  essentially  a  warehouse  district  and  is  confined  to  a  narrow  belt  along 
the  waterfront  and  terminals.  Light  is  not  required  for  most  storage 
buildings.  In  a  warehouse  district  where  three-quarters  of  the  buildings 
do  not  need  yards  or  courts  it  would  seem  unjust  to  require  all  the 
owners  to  contribute  to  light  and  air  that  would  only  be  of  economic 
benefit  to  a  very  small  proportion  of  the  owners.  It  would  seem  appro- 
priate, under  the  districting  plan,  that  a  place  should  be  provided  where 
storage  and  other  buildings  that  do  not  require  light  and  air  could 
locate  and  occupy  the  full  area  of  the  lot.  It  is  not  anticipated  that  many 
residential  buildings  will  be  located  in  the  A-Districts,  yet  they  are  not 
prohibited  from  so  locating,  and  in  such  case  they  would  be  subject  to 
the  same  court  and  yard  provisions  prescribed  for  the  B-Districts. 

14 


SECTION -4.  -  AREA-^B"-  DISTRICTS      -  INTERIOR  LOTS 


REAR  YARD 

FOR  RESIDENTIAL 

BUILDING    120' HIGH 


AM0  coojerj  Aec  thc  samc  . 
excefr  rn^T  yakos  *ee 

Bu't.DiN»s  A/ee 

I 


REARVARD 
FOR   NON- RES- 
IDENTIAL BUILDING 


YAeps  AND  cooers  ma  y  sf 

PSCJICASCD  IN  3IZS  NCA/fCB    THC  BASS 

ir   r7f£r  kccp  w/tmin  t-hs  f>eo- 

VfJ/O/VS     AT  ANY    e/VCN  L£t^CL 


OUTER  COURT  "'«v^^a' 

FOR    BUILDING  ^    ^ 

120  FEET  HIGH 


INNER  COURTS 
FOR  BUILDING 
120  FEET  HIGH 


ioiPr 


IS 


B-Districts:  The  B-Districts,  as  a  rule,  include  the  most  inten- 
sively developed  sections  of  the  city,  and  those  that  will  be  brought 
within  about  twenty-five  minutes  by  the  new  rapid  transit  lines  of  the 
central  business  districts  in  Manhattan.  In  the  B-Districts  a  rear  yard 
is  only  required  for  such  portion  of  the  building  as  is  back  to  back  with 
another  property.  This  yard  must  increase  in  size  with  the  height  of 
the  building,  being  not  less  than  two  inches  in  its  least  dimension  for 
every  foot  of  height  above  the  curb  level.  If,  however,  any  part  of  the 
building  is  less  than  55  feet  from  a  street  line,  no  yard  is  required 
behind  such  part.  Courts  provided  must  increase  in  size  with  the  height 
of  the  building.  The  area  of  an  inner  court  at  any  height  shall  be  not 
less  than  the  square  of  the  depth  of  the  required  yard  at  such  height. 
The  least  dimension  of  any  court  shall  be  at  every  point  not  less  than 
one  inch  for  every  foot  of  height  above  the  curb  level.  The  above  provi- 
sion as  to  yards  and  courts  applies  both  to  residential  and  to  non-resi- 
dential buildings.  It  provides  slightly  wider  yards  and  larger  courts  above 
90  feet  of  height  than  is  now  required  by  the  Tenement  House  Law. 
This  will  only  affect  elevator  apartments  above  eight  or  nine  stories  in 
height.  It  was  thought  that  the  existing  provisions  of  the  Tenement 
House  Law  were  more  nearly  adequate  in  court  and  yard  provisions  as 
applied  to  the  eight  or  nine-story  apartments  than  as  applied  to  the 
ten  or  twelve-story  apartments.  The  slight  increase  in  requirements  for 
the  higher  buildings  will  be  of  economic  advantage  to  the  owners  and 
will  secure  more  wholesome  light  and  air  conditions  for  the  tenants. 
The  rear  yard  for  a  building  120  feet  high  or  about  10  stories  will  be  20 
feet,  and  for  a  building  150  feet  high  or  about  12  stories  will  be  25  feet. 
This  is  not  in  excess  of  the  best  economic  standards  and  practice  for 
either  office  Jbuildings,  loft  buildings  or  elevator  apartments. 

C-Districts:  The  C-Districts  include  most  of  the  remaining  built-up 
portions  of  the  city,  including  sections  that  will  be  about  forty  minutes 
by  the  new  rapid  transit  lines  from  the  central  business  district.  In 
the  C-Districts,  non-residential  buildings  are  subject  to  the  same  court 
and  yard  provisions  above  outlined  for  the  B-Districts.  Residential  build- 
ings up  to  five  stories  in  height  may  be  built  with  the  courts  and  yards 
authorized  by  the  Tenement  House  Law.  Above  five  stories  in  height 
the  width  of  the  yard  and  the  size  of  the  court  is  somewhat  greater  than 
that  provided  by  the  Tenement  House  Law.  This  is  on  the  principle  that 
economic  conditions  in  the  C-Districts  require  and  public  health  and 
convenience  demand  a  more  liberal  provision  for  light  and  air  than 
would  obtain  in  more  centrally  located  sections.  The  rule  proposed  is 
that  yards  shall  be  at  least  two  and  one-half  inches  in  least  dimension 
for  each  foot  of  height,  and  courts  at  least  one  and  one-quarter  inches 
in  least  dimension  for  each  foot  of  height.  This  for  a  six-story  building 
(70  feet)  will  require  a  rear  yard  14  feet  7  inches  deep  as  against  the 
13  feet  required  by  the  Tenement  House  Law.    For  an  eight-story  build- 

16 


SECTION  4.  -  AREA-'C-  DISTRICTS 

YAeOS  AND  COUISrS  IN  NON- RESIDENTIAL   dUILDINGS  ASE  THE  SAME 
AS  IN    AREA  -"B" '  DISTeiCrS 

IN  RESIDENTIAL  BUILDINGS    UP  TO  60  r££T   IN  HEIGHT  OR  nVE  STDQIES 
YARDS  AND  COURTS  ARE  AS  REQUIRED  IN  THE  TENEMENT  HOUSE  LAW  EXCEPT 
THAT  OUTER  COURTS  MAYBE  NOT  MORE  THAN  FIl^E  TIMES  AS  LONG  AS  THEY 
ARE  WIDE  IN  CORNER    BUILDINGS,  YARDS  AND  COURTS  ARE  THE  SAME 

AS  FOR    OTHER   BUILDINGS    BUT    YARDS    ARE  REQUIRED  ONLY  WHE2E 
BUILDINGS  ARE  ACTUALLY  BACK  TO  BACK 

ONLY   MW/MUM    SIZES  Or  VAKOS  AMD  COUBTS 
AB£   H£e£   SMOkffN.  e)tC£f>r  THAT    TH£  -t 

LCNOrH  or  ooree  coujers  /STTie-      .-vi'^ 

MAAimuM    POSS/BLC    £OJ3   SUCH  5> 

miHIMUM    W/pTH 


INTERIOR.  '^<^ 

eeSlDENTIAL 
4ST0eY  BUILDING 


INTEElOli 
RESIDENTIAL 
5  STOBY  BUILDING 


POrr£0    LIN£S 

SHOW  yAeos  ASP  couers 
A3  A,LLO>v£o  i//voea  rue 
re/v£Mr/vr  mou3£  law 

aor  wc~  p/srgicrj  they 

MUST  B£  gCeULATEO  AS 
SMOtV/V    BY  ft/a.  i.l/<i£S 


INTEBIOE 

RESIDENTIAL 

6  STOBY  BUILDING 


INTEBIOE 

RESIDENTIAL 

8  STORY  BUILDING 


WF 


17 


ing  (90  feet)  the  comparative  requirements  would  be  18  feet  9  inches  and 
15  feet. 

The  residential  area  contained  in  the  B-Districts  and  the  C-Districts 
will  include  all  the  apartment  and  tenement  area  of  the  city  for  many 
years  to  come.  While  it  is  anticipated  that  many  one  and  two-family 
houses  will  be  built  within  this  area,  it  seems  probable  that  in  thirty  or 
fifty  years,  when  the  population  has  increased  to  ten  or  twelve  millions, 
most  of  these  areas  will  be  quite  generally  built  up  with  apartments  and 
flats.  The  residential  area  that  can  be  brought  by  a  five-cent  fare  within 
thirty  or  forty  minutes  of  every  part  of  the  central  business  district  is 
somewhat  limited  and  we  may  anticipate  that  for  many  years  the  great 
bulk  of  the  population  will  be  housed  within  these  general  limits  and  in 
growing  proportion  in  apartments  and  flats. 

D-Districts:  The  D-Districts  include  the  more  remote  or  undevel- 
oped areas  of  the  city  and  those  that  are  in  general  more  than  about 
forty  minutes  from  the  central  business  district.  It  is  intended  generally 
for  one  or  two-family  houses,  either  singly  or  in  rows.  Apartments,  how- 
ever, are  not  excluded  but  are  handicapped  by  the  restrictions  as  to  per- 
centage of  lot  that  may  be  occupied  and  the  size  of  yards  and  courts. 
Extensive  D-Districts  have  been  indicated  for  the  less  accessible  portions 
of  Queens  and  Richmond,  and  also  around  Jamaica  Bay,  in  Brooklyn. 
The  total  acreage  of  the  D-Districts  constitutes  more  than  half  of  the 
residential  areas  of  the  entire  city.  A  residential  building  in  a  D-District 
may  not  exceed  60  per  cent  of  the  area  of  an  interior  lot  at  the  curb  level 
or  80  per  cent  of  the  area  of  a  corner  lot  above  the  first  story.  Yards  for 
residential  buildings  shall  be  at  least  five  inches  in  least  dimension  for 
each  foot  of  height  of  the  building,  and  courts  at  least  two  and  one-half 
inches  per  foot  of  height.  The  depth  of  the  yard  at  the  curb  level  must 
be  20  per  cent  of  the  depth  of  the  lot,  but  need  not  exceed  20  feet.  Non- 
residential buildings  are  not  limited  as  to  percentage  covered,  but  their 
yards  above  the  first  story  shall  be  at  least  four  inches  in  least  dimension 
for  each  foot  of  height,  and  courts  at  least  two  inches  for  each  foot  of 
height. 

E-Districts;  The  Commission  has  tentatively  indicated  as  E- 
Districts  various  small  areas  that  either  are  now  high-class  villa  districts 
or  seem  particularly  appropriate  for  such  development.  In  the  E-Districts 
on  an  interior  lot,  a  residential  building  with  its  porches,  wings  and  acces- 
sory buildings  shall  not  exceed  for  the  first  story  more  than  50  per  cent 
of  the  area  of  the  lot,  and  shall  not  exceed  30  per  cent  of  the  area  of 
the  lot  above  the  first  story.  Yards  shall  be  at  least  five  inches  in  least 
dimension  for  each  foot  of  height,  and  courts  at  least  two  and  one-half 
inches  for  each  foot  of  height.  On  at  least  one  side  of  every  building 
there  shall  be  an  outer  court  along  the  side  lot  line  for  the  full  depth  of 
the  lot.     Existing  single  family  detached  house  areas  in  Brooklyn,  The 

18 


Bronx,  Queens  and  Richmond  would,  with  few  e\cc])iions,  conform  to  the 
proposed  requirements  for  E-Districts. 

As  an  E-District,  the  Commission  has  tentatively  included  a  large 
portion  of  the  Riverdale  section  in  The  Bronx.  This  section  is  situated 
on  the  hills  between  Broadway  and  the  Hudson  River,  and  is  now  occu- 
pied by  villa  houses  and  estates.  In  the  Borough  of  Queens  a  portion  of 
Douglaston,  a  large  undeveloped  tract  between  the  Rocky  Hill  Road  and 
the  Nassau  County  line,  and  a  large  area  north  of  Hillside  Avenue  with 
Jamaica  Estates  as  a  center  have  been  indicated  as  E-Districts.  In 
Brooklyn,  Manhattan  Beach  Estates,  Sea  Gate,  two  small  areas  between 
Ocean  Avenue  and  Nostrand  Avenue  and  south  of  Avenue  J,  and  small 
areas  in  Dyker  Heights  and  along  the  Shore  Road  in  I>ay  Ridge,  have  been 
included  as  E-Districts.  In  Richmond  a  small  area  al(jng  the  Serpentine 
and  a  larger  area  above  Dongan  Hills  have  also  been  made  E-Districts. 
The  Commission  will  not  be  disposed  to  retain  these  E-Districts  unless  it 
seems  clear  that  they  are  satisfactory  to  the  property  owners  immedi- 
ately aflfected.  The  Commission  hopes,  however,  that  their  inclusion  on 
the  tentative  maps  may  lead  to  the  suggestion  by  owners  of  similar  areas 
in  which  it  may  be  desirable  to  safeguard  a  high-class  villa  development 
by  including  them  as  E-Districts. 

Private    Dwelling    Districts 

The  Commission  has  been  asked  to  recommend  a  restriction  against 
apartment  houses  in  various  private  dwelling  districts  that  are  threatened 
with  an  invasion  of  apartment  houses.  Such  a  restriction  would,  in  many 
cases,  undoubtedly  conserve  property  values.  In  a  good  residential  sec- 
tion the  coming  of  the  apartment  house  usually  means  a  considerable  loss 
to  all  owners  of  private  houses.  The  slight  increase  in  the  value  of  the 
land  is  not  sufficient  to  offset  the  distinct  depreciation  in  the  value  of  the 
building.  Sometimes  the  apartment  is  a  mere  parasite.  There  would  be 
no  economic  reason  for  its  construction  were  it  not  for  the  open  spaces 
and  attractive  surroundings  created  by  the  private  dwelling  character 
of  the  neighborhood.  This  economic  reason  is  destroyed  by  the  erection 
of  a  few  apartment  houses  and  at  the  same  time  private  dwelling  values 
are  greatly  depreciated.  Under  such  conditions  a  restriction  against 
apartment  houses  would  be  of  undoubted  social  and  economic  value. 

It  is  realized  that  comparatively  few  of  the  strictly  private  dwelling 
sections  can  be  long  maintained  as  such  anywhere  within  say  2^  minutes 
by  rapid  transit  of  the  central  office  and  commercial  sections.  The  demand 
for  housing  space  becomes  so  great  that  the  apartment  or  flat  is  an  econ- 
omic necessity  for  all  save  a  comparative  few.  It  is  important,  how- 
ever, that  wherever  it  is  economically  feasible  to  maintain  such  oases  of 
private  residences  that  legal  safeguards  be  thrown  around  them.  This 
will  not  only  conserve  property  values,  but  will  retain  w-ithin  the  city 
many  citizens  who  would  otherwise  move  to  the  suburbs.    The  retention 

19 


of  the  citizenship  of  a  greater  proportion  of  this  class  of  its  business  men 
is  of  great  importance  not  only  as  regards  the  city's  taxable  values,  but 
also  as  regards  civic  interest  and  civic  leadership. 

In  imposing  a  restriction  against  apartment  houses  in  any  improved, 
residential  section,  great  care  must  be  taken  to  be  sure  that  injustice 
is  not  done.  It  would  seem  desirable  to  consider  separately  each  block 
or  street  frontage  and  only  impose  the  restriction  after  all  owners  have 
had  a  chance  to  be  heard.  The  Commission  has  found  it  impossible  to 
make  the  intensive  investigation  that  would  justify  it  in  recommending 
that  a  particular  block  frontage  should  be  restricted  against  apartment 
houses.  It  recommends,  however,  that  the  Board  of  Estimate  and  Appor- 
tionment supplement  the  adoption  of  a  general  districting  plan  by  afford- 
ing appropriate  opportunity  and  procedure  for  the  further  restriction  of 
any  block  or  street  frontage  in  any  residential  district  to  use  for  private 
dwellings  only. 

Respectfuly  submitted, 

COMMISSION  ON  BUILDING  DISTRICTS 
AND  RESTRICTIONS. 

Edward  M.  Bassett,  Chairman 
Lawson  Purdy,  Vice-Chair  man 
Edward  C.  Blum 
James  E.  Clonin 
Otto  M.  Eidlitz 
Burt  L.  Fenner 
Edward  R.  Hardy 
Richard  W.  Lawrence 
Alrick  H.  Man 
Alfred  E.  Marling 
George  T.  Mortimer 
J.  F.  Smith 
Walter  Stabler 
Franklin  S.  Tomlin 
George  C.  Whipple 
William  G.  Willcox 
Korert  H.  Whitten,  Secretary 


20 


Commission  on  Building  Districts  and  Restrictions 


USE  DISTRICTS  RESOLUTION 

(Tentative  Draft,  March  10,  1916) 

A  Resolution  Regulating  the  Location  of  Trades  and  Industries  and  the 
Location  of  Buildings  Designed  for  Specified  Uses  and  Estab- 
lishing the  Boundaries  of  Districts  for  Such  Purposes. 
Be  It  Resolved  by  the  Board  of  Estimate  and  .Ipportionment: 
Section  i.     For  the  purpose  of  regulating  and  restricting  the  loca- 
tion of  trades  and  industries  and  the  location  of  buildings  designed  for 
specified  uses,  the  City  of  New  York  is  hereby  divided  into  three  classes 
of  districts,  (i)  Residence  districts,  (2)  Business  districts,  and  (3)  Unre- 
stricted districts,  as  shown  on  the  Use  District  Maps  which  accompany 
this  Resolution  and  are  part  hereof.    The  Use  Districts  set  forth  on  said 
maps  are  hereby  established. 

Section  2.  Except  as  provided  in  Section  6,  all  structures,  build- 
ings, premises  or  places  shall  conform  to  the  regulations  and  restrictions 
hereinafter  established  for  the  Use  District  in  which  they  are  located. 

Section  3.  Residence  Districts :  In  residence  districts  only 
structures  or  buildings  with  their  usual  accessories  designed  exclusively 
for  the  following  specified  uses  may  be  constructed: 

(i)     Dwellings,   including  tenement  houses,  boarding  houses  and 
hotels  having  thirty  or  more  sleeping  rooms. 

(2)  Private  Clubs. 

(3)  Religious,  educational,  philanthropic  and  eleemosynary  build- 

ings and  institutions  other  than  correctional  institutions. 

(4)  Hospitals  and  sanitariums. 

(5)  Farming,  ti^uck  gardening,  nurseries  or  greenhouses. 

In  a  residence  district  the  use  of  structures,  buildings,  premises  or 
places,  except  as  provided  by  Section  6,  shall  be  limited  to  the  uses  as 
above  specified,  for  which  buildings  may  be  constructed  and  to  the  cus- 
tomary accessory  uses  incident  thereto. 

Section  4.  Business  Districts:  In  a  business  district,  except  as 
provided  in  Section  6,  no  structures  or  buildings  shall  be  constructed 
and  no  premises,  places,  buildings  or  structures  shall  be  used  for  any 
of  the  following  specified  trades,  industries  or  uses : 

Ammonia,  chlorine  or  bleaching  powder  manufacture. 

Asphalt  manufacture  or  refining. 

Assaying  (other  than  gold  and  silver). 

Blacksmithing. 

Boiler  making. 

Brewing  and  distilling  of  liquors. 

Carpet  cleaning. 

Celluloid  manufacture. 

Distillation  of  coal,  wood  or  bones. 

Dyeing  and  dry  cleaning. 

Fat  rendering. 

Fertilizer  manufacture. 

Gas  (illuminating  or  heating)  manufacture  and  storage. 

21 


Glue,  size  and  gelatine  manufacture. 

Incineration  or  reduction  of  garbage,  oflfal,  dead  animals  or  refuse. 

Iron,  steel,  brass  and  copper  manufacture,  forging  and  rolling. 

Junk  and  rag  storage  and  baling. 

Lamp  .black  manufacture. 

Lime,  cement  and  plaster  of  paris  manufacture. 

Oil  cloth  or  linoleum  manufacture. 

Paint,  oil,  varnish  and  turpentine  manufacture. 

Petroleum  refining  or  storage. 

Electric  central  station  power  plants. 

Printing  ink  manufacture. 

Raw  hides  and  skins — storage,  curing  and  tanning. 

Rubber  manufacture  from  the  crude  material. 

Saw  or  planing  mills. 

Shoddy  manufacture  and  wool  scouring. 

Slaughtering  of  animals. 

Smelting. 

Soap  manufacture. 

Starch,  glucose  or  dextrine  manufacture. 

Stock  yards. 

Sugar  refining. 

Sulphurous,  sulphuric,  nitric  or  hydrochloric  acid  manufacture. 

Tallow,  grease  and  lard  manufacture  and  refining. 

Tar  distillation  or  manufacture. 

Tar  roofing  or  tar  waterproofing  manufacture. 

Stone  and  monumental  works  and  crematories  shall  be  excluded 
from  a  business  district  except  within  500  feet  of  a  cemetery  in  a  busi- 
ness district  immediately  adjoining  such  cemetery.  No  structure  or 
building  shall  be  erected  and  no  structure,  building,  premises  or  place 
shall  be  used  for  any  trade  or  industry  that  is  noxious  or  offensive  by 
reason  of  the  emission  of  noise,  odor,  dust,  smoke  or  gas,  but  garages, 
livery  stables,  car  barns  or  places  of  amusement  shall  not  be  excluded. 
The  use  of  structures,  buildings,  premises  or  places  for  factory  purposes 
shall  be  prohibited  in  a  business  district  except  that  25  per  cent  of  the 
total  floor  space  of  a  building  and  not  less  than  twice  the  ground  area  of 
the  building  or  lot,  may  be  so  used.  The  printing  of  a  newspaper  shall 
not  be  deemed  a  factory  use.  No  use  permitted  in  a  residential  district 
by  Section  3  shall  be  excluded  from  a  business  district. 

Section  5.  Use  District  Map  Designations:  Where,  on  the  Use 
District  Map,  a  district  designation  is  shown  in  the  middle  of  a  street,  its 
influence  shall  extend  to  all  land  within  a  loo-foot  belt  on  both  sides  of 
such  street.  Where  an  area  is  bounded  by  two  or  more  kinds  of  district 
designations,  any  part  of  such  area  more  than  100  feet  back  from  any 
district  designation  shall  be  governed  by  the  least  restrictive  of  the 
bounding  regulations.  Where  a  district  designation  is  in  a  street  inter- 
section or  part  thereof,  such  designation  shall  control  for  100  feet  back  on 
the  sides  of  all  blocks  touched  by  such  district  designation,  regardless  of 
the  district  designation  in  such  streets.  Where  the  same  area  would  by 
the  above  rules  be  placed  in  two  or  more  districts,  the  least  restrictive 
district  designation  shall  apply  but  not  further  than  to  the  near  side  of 
the  first  street  upon  which  a  more  restrictive  district  designation  is 
shown. 

Section  6.  Existing  Buildings  and  Uses :  All  existing  structures, 
buildings,  premises  or  places  may  continue  in  their  present  use  or  uses. 

22 


Nothing  herein  contained  shall  require  any  change  in  a  building  or  in 
its  designated  use  for  which  a  permit  has  been  heretofore  approved  or 
plans  for  which  are  on  file  at  the  time  of  the  passage  of  this  resolution 
and  a  permit  therefor  is  issued  within  three  months  of  the  passage  of  this 
resolution  and  the  construction  of  which  is  diligently  prosecuted  within 
a  year  of  the  date  of  such  permit. 

If  a  structure  or  building  now  existing  shall  hereafter  be  wholly  or 
in  part  removed  or  destroyed  whatsoever  may  be  the  cause,  purpose  or 
manner  of  its  removal  or  destruction,  it  shall  not  be  rebuilt  or  restored 
unless  it  conforms  with  the  provisions  herein  prescribed  for  the  district 
in  which  it  is  located ;  but  nothing  in  this  resolution  shall  prevent  the 
restoration  of  a  building  or  industrial  plant  which  is  damaged  less  than 
fifty  per  cent,  of  its  structural  parts,  or  the  restoration  of  a  wall  declared 
unsafe  by  the  superintendent  of  buildings.  No  building  in  a  business 
district  now  used  in  part  for  factory  purposes  in  excess  of  the  limit 
prescribed  in  Section  4  shall  hereafter  be  used  for  such  purposes  in  excess 
of  such  present  use. 

Section  7.  Unlawful  Use;  Certificate  of  Use:  It  shall  be  unlawful 
to  use  or  permit  the  use  of  any  structure,  building,  premises  or  place 
hereafter  created,  erected,  altered,  changed,  or  converted  wholly  or  partly 
in  its  use  until  a  certificate  to  the  effect  that  said  structure,  building, 
premises  or  place  and  the  use  thereof  conforms  to  all  of  the  requirements 
of  this  resolution  shall  have  been  issued  by  the  superintendent  of  build- 
ings of  the  Borough  in  which  said  structure,  building,  premises  or  place 
is  located.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  superintendent  of  buildings  to 
issue  a  certificate  of  use  within  not  less  than  twenty  days  after  a  request 
for  the  same  shall  be  filed  in  his  Bureau  by  any  owner  of  a  structure, 
building,  premises  or  place  affected  by  this  resolution,  provided  said 
structure,  building,  premises  or  place  conforms  with  all  the  requirements 
herein  set  forth. 

Section  8.  Amendments,  Alterations  and  Changes  in  District  Lines ; 
Method  Provided:  Whenever  the  owners  of  fifty-one  per  cent  or  more 
of  the  frontage  in  any  district  or  part  thereof  shall  present  a  petition  duly 
signed  and  acknowledged  to  the  Board  of  Estimate  and  Apportionment 
requesting  an  amendment,  change  or  repeal  of  the  regulations  prescribed 
for  such  district  or  part  thereof,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  this  Board  to 
vote  upon  said  petition  within  ninety  days  after  the  filing  of  the  same 
by  the  petitioners  with  the  Secretary  of  this  Board. 

Section  9.  Interpretation ;  Purpose :  In  interpreting  and  applying 
the  provisions  of  this  resolution,  they  shall  be  held  to  be  the  minimum 
requirements  adopted  for  the  promotion  of  the  public  health,  safety, 
comfort,  convenience  and  general  welfare,  including  the  direction  of 
building  development  in  accord  with  a  well-considered  plan  of  city 
growth. 

Section  10.  Enforcement,  Legal  Procedure.  Penalties:  This  reso- 
lution shall  be  deemed  to  be  a  part  of  the  building  code  of  the  City  of  Xew 
York,  and  each  superintendent  of  buildings  shall,  in  his  own  borough, 
be  charged  with  the  enforcement  of  its  provisions  and  any  rules  and  regu- 
lations adopted  thereunder.  Any  and  every  violation  of  the  provisions  of 
this  resolution  or  of  the  rules  and  regulations  adopted  thereunder  shall 
subject  the  owner,  agent,  contractor,  lessee  or  tenant  of  a  structure,  build- 
ing, premises  or  place  where  such  violation  has  been  committed  or 
fhall  exist  and  the  agent,  architect,  builder,  contractor,  or  any  other  per 

23 


son  who  has  assisted  in  the  commission  of  such  violation  or  who  main- 
tains any  structure,  building,  premises  or  place  in  which  such  violation 
exists  to  the  same  legal  procedure  and  the  same  penalties  as  are  pre- 
scribed in  any  law,  statute  or  ordinance  for  the  violations  of  the  Building 
Code,  and  such  violations  shall  be  subject  to  the  same  legal  remedies  and 
prosecuted  in  the  same  manner  prescribed  in  any  law  or  ordinance  for 
violations  of  said  Building  Code. 

Section    ii.     When    Effective:     This   Resolution   shall   take   effect 
immediately. 


24 


Commission  on  Building  Districts  and  Restrictions 

HEIGHT  AND  AREA  RESOLUTION 

(Tentative  Draft,  March  10,  1916) 

A  Resolution  Regulating  the  Height  of  Buildings  and  the  Area  of  Their 

Courts  and  Yards  and  Establishing  the  Boundaries  of 

Districts  for  Such  Purposes. 

Be  It  Resolved  by  the  Board  of  Estimate  and  Apportionment: 
Section   i.     Definitions:     Certain  words  in  this  resolution  are  de- 
fined  for  the  purposes  thereof   as   follows:   Words   used   in   the   present 
tense  include  the  future;  the  singular  number  includes  the  plural  and  the 
plural  the  singular ;  the  word  "lot"  includes  the  word  "plot." 

(a)  The  "curb"  is  the  mean  curb  level  at  that  front  of  the  building 
which  faces  on  the  street  of  greatest  width,  or,  if  the  greatest  width 
occurs  on  more  than  one  of  the  streets  on  which  the  building  faces,  the 
mean  curb  level  at  that  point  of  the  building  which  faces  on  the  street 
of  greatest  width  and  having  the  highest  curb.  Where  no  street  grade 
has  been  legally  established,  or  the  building  does  not  adjoin  the  street, 
the  average  level  of  all  the  ground  adjoining  such  building  shall  be  taken 
as  the  equivalent  of  the  curb  level ; 

(b)  The  "height"  of  a  building  or  structure  is  the  vertical  distance 
measured  in  a  straight  line  from  the  curb  level  to  the  highest  point  of 
the  roof  beams  in  the  case  of  flat  roofs,  and  to  the  average  height  of  the 
gable  in  the  case  of  roofs  having  a  pitch  of  more  than  twenty  degrees 
with  a  horizontal  plane ; 

(c)  A  "street  wall"  is  any  vertical  wall  or  structure  on  or  approxi- 
mately on  the  street  building  line  of  a  property; 

(d)  The  "width  of  the  street"  is  the  average  width  of  the  street 
within  the  block  measured  perpendicularly  from  building  line  to  opposite 
building  line,  but  where  a  street  borders  a  public  place,  a  pubHc  park  or 
body  of  water  the  width  of  the  street  is  the  width  of  such  marginal 
street  plus  the  width  of  such  public  place,  public  park  or  body  of  water ; 

(e)  A  "corner  lot"  is  a  lot  at  a  corner  or  at  the  junction  of  two  or 
more  intersecting  streets  between  which  there  is  an  interior  angle  of  less 
than  135  degrees.    Any  other  lot  is  an  "interior  lot" ; 

(f)  A  "rear  yard"  is  an  open  unoccupied  space  on  the  same  lot  with 
a  building  between  the  extreme  rear  line  of  the  building  and  the  rear  line 
of  the  lot.  In  the  case  of  a  corner  lot  the  owner  may  elect  by  a  state- 
ment on  his  plans  either  street  boundary  as  his  front.  The  rear  of  a  lot 
is  the  side  opposite  to  a  street  front.  In  the  case  of  a  triangular  or  gore 
lot  the  rear  is  the  boundary  line  not  bordering  on  a  street.  The  depth 
of  a  lot  is  the  mean  distance  from  the  front  of  the  lot  to  the  rear  line  of 
the  lot ; 

(g)  A  "court"  is  an  open  unoccupied  space,  other  than  a  yard,  on 
the  same  lot  with  a  building.  A  court  not  extending  to  the  street  or  a 
yard  of  at  least  the  prescribed  size  is  an  inner  court.  A  court  extending 
to  the  street  or  a  yard  of  at  least  the  prescribed  size  is  an  outer  court : 

25 


(h)  The  "least  horizontal  dimension"  of  a  yard  or  court  at  any 
height  above  the  curb  is  the  least  of  the  mean  clear  horizontal  dimen- 
sions of  such  yard  or  court  at  such  height; 

(i)  A  "residential  building"  shall  be  defined  solely  for  the  purposes 
of  this  resolution  as  a  building  used  exclusively  for  residence  purposes 
or  a  building  used  in  part  only  for  residence  purposes  containing  apart- 
ments for  more  than  two  families.  All  other  buildings  are  "non-resi- 
dential." 

Height  Districts 

Section  2.  Height  Limits:  The  heights  of  buildings  hereafter 
erected  shall  in  general  be  regulated  with  relation  to  the  open  spaces  on 
which  they  abut.  Except  as  hereinafter  provided,  every  building  here- 
after erected  shall  be  so  constructed  that  the  street  wall  shall  not  exceed 
in  height  the  limits  hereinafter  prescribed,  and  that  any  other  wall  or 
structure  or  any  part  of  such  building  or  any  structure  on  it  shall  not 
exceed  the  set-back  and  other  provisions  hereinafter  prescribed.  Height 
districts  as  shown  on  the  accompanying  Height  District  Maps  for  the 
Boroughs  of  Manhattan,  Brooklyn,  The  Bronx,  Queens  and  Richmond 
are  hereby  established. 

One  Times  Districts :  Any  building  may  be  erected  on  the  street 
line  to  a  height  equal  to  once  the  width  of  the  street.  Above  the  limit- 
ing height  of  the  street  wall  of  any  building,  the  height  of  the  building 
may  be  increased  provided  that  such  extended  portion  sets  back  from 
the  street  line  in  the  ratio  of  one  foot  horizontally  for  each  two  feet  of 
its  height  above  the  prescribed  limiting  height  on  the  street  line. 

One  and  One-Quarter  Times  Districts :  Any  building  may  be  erect- 
ed on  the  street  line  to  a  height  equal  to  one  and  one-quarter  times  the 
width  of  the  street.  Above  the  limiting  height  of  the  street  wall  of  any 
building,  the  height  of  the  building  may  be  increased  provided  that  such 
extended  portion  sets  back  from  the  street  line  in  the  ratio  of  one  foot 
horizontally  for  each  two  and  one-half  feet  of  its  height  above  the 
prescribed  limiting  height. 

One  and  One-Half  Times  Districts :  Any  building  may  be  erected 
on  the  street  line  to  a  height  equal  to  one  and  one-half  times  the  width 
of  the  street.  Above  the  limiting  height  of  the  street  wall  of  any  build- 
ing, the  height  of  the  building  may  be  increased  provided  that  such 
extended  portion  sets  back  from  the  street  line  in  the  ratio  of  one  foot 
horizontally  for  each  three  feet  of  its  height  above  the  prescribed  limit- 
ing height. 

Two  Times  Districts :  Any  building  may  be  erected  on  the  street 
line  to  a  height  equal  to  twice  the  width  of  the  street.  Above  the  limit- 
ing height  of  the  street  wall  of  any  building,  the  height  of  the  building 
may  be  increased  provided  that  such  extended  portion  sets  back  from 
the  street  line  in  the  ratio  of  one  foot  horizontally  for  each  four  feet  of 
its  height  above  the  prescribed  limiting  height. 

Two  and  One-Half  Times  Districts :  Any  building  may  be  erected 
on  the  street  line  to  a  height  equal  to  two  and  one-half  times  the  width 
of  the  street.  Above  the  limiting  height  of  the  street  wall  of  any  build- 
ing, the  height  of  the  building  may  be  increased  provided  that  such 
extended  portion  sets  back  from  the  street  line  in  the  ratio  of  one  foot 
horizontally  for  each  five  feet  of  its  height  above  the  prescribed  limiting 
height. 

26 


Section  3.  Exceptions  for  all  Height  Districts:  In  computing  the 
limiting  height,  a  street  less  than  50  feet  wide  shall  be  considered  as 
though  it  were  50  feet  wide  and  every  street  or  public  open  space  more 
than  100  feet  wide  shall  be  considered  as  though  it  were  not  more  than 
100  feet  wide. 

The  limiting  height  of  the  street  wall  and  the  set-backs  allowed 
above  the  limiting  height  of  a  building  continuous  around  the  corner  of 
two  or  more  streets  shall  be  governed  by  the  height  allowed  on  the  street 
of  greatest  width  or  by  the  height  allowed  in  the  least  restricted  dis- 
trict on  which  the  continuous  street  wall  of  the  building  abuts  for  a  dis- 
tance of  150  feet  back  on  the  narrower  or  more  restricted  street. 
When  a  building  fronts  on  two  or  more  streets  and  its  street  walls  are 
not  continuous  about  the  intervening  corners,  the  height  of  each  street 
wall  and  its  set-backs  shall  be  determined  solely  from  the  street  on 
which  it  faces. 

If  the  area  of  the  building  is  reduced  so  that  above  a  certain  level 
it  covers  in  the  aggregate  not  to  exceed  25  per  cent  of  the  area  of  the 
lot,  the  street  wall  of  the  building  above  such  level  may  be  excepted 
from  the  foregoing  provisions,  and  the  street  wall  may  be  erected  to 
any  height  provided  that  such  wall  shall  be  distant  at  all  points  at  least 
75  feet  from  the  center  of  the  street  on  which  it  faces ;  but  for  each  one 
per  cent  of  its  full  possible  length  that  such  street  wall  is  decreased, 
such  wall  shall  be  permitted  to  be  erected  four  inches  nearer  to  the 
center  of  the  street. 

When  there  are  existing  street  walls  in  excess  of  the  limiting  heights 
as  above  provided  within  50  feet  of  either  end  of  a  street  wall  of  a  pro- 
posed building  or  directly  opposite  such  wall  across  the  street,  the  height 
to  which  such  proposed  street  wall  may  rise  may  be  increased  by  an 
amount  equal  to  the  average  excess  height  of  the  existing  street  walls 
within  50  feet  on  either  side  and  directly  across  the  street.  The  average 
amount  of  such  excess  height  shall  be  computed  by  adding  together  the 
excess  height  above  the  prescribed  height  of  each  of  the  existing  build- 
ings or  parts  of  existing  buildings  within  the  above  defined  area,  and 
dividing  the  sum  by  the  number  of  such  buildings. 

Area  Districts 

Section  4.  The  proportion  of  the  plot  covered  by  buildings  here- 
after erected  shall  in  general  be  regulated  as  hereinafter  specified.  The 
depths  of  yards  and  the  dimensions  of  courts  shall  increase  proportion- 
ately with  an  increased  height  of  the  building  and  the  minimum  depths 
of  yards  shall  be  proportionate  to  the  depth  of  the  lot.  Area  districts, 
as  shown  on  the  accompanying  Area  District  Maps  for  the  Boroughs  of 
Manhattan,  Brooklyn,  The  Bronx,  Queens  and  Richmond,  are  hereby 
established : 

A-Districts:  For  residential  buildings  yards  shall  be  at  least  two 
inches  in  least  dimension  for  each  one  foot  of  height  and  courts  at  least 
one  inch  in  least  dimension  for  each  one  foot  of  height  above  the  curb 
level. 

B-Districts:  For  all  buildings  yards  shall  be  at  least  two  inches  in 
least  dimension  for  each  one  foot  of  height  and  courts  at  least  one 
inch  in  least  dimension  for  each  one  foot  of  height  above  the  curb  level. 

C-Districts :  For  residential  buildings  yards  shall  be  at  least  two 
and  one-half  inches  in  least  dimension  for  each  one  foot  of  height  and 

27 


■courts  at  least  one  and  one-quarter  inches  in  least  dimension  for  each 
one  foot  of  height  above  the  curb  level.  For  non-residential  buildings 
yards  shall  be  at  least  two  inches  in  least  dimension  for  each  one  foot 
of  height  and  courts  at  least  one  inch  in  least  dimension  for  each  one  foot 
of  height  above  the  curb  level. 

D-Districts:  A  residential  building  shall  not  exceed  60  per  cent 
of  the  area  of  an  interior  lot  at  the  curb  level  or  80  per  cent  of  the  area 
of  a  corner  lot  at  a  level  18  feet  above  the  curb.  Yards  for  residential 
buildings  shall  be  at  least  five  inches  in  least  dimension  for  each  one 
foot  of  height  and  courts  at  least  two  and  one-half  inches  in  least  dimen- 
sion for  each  one  foot  of  height  above  the  curb  level.  The  depth  of  a 
required  yard  for  a  residential  building  shall  be  at  least  20  per  cent 
of  the  depth  of  the  lot,  but  in  no  case  need  it  exceed  20  feet.  For  non- 
residential buildings  yards  shall  be  at  least  four  inches  in  least  dimen- 
sion for  each  one  foot  of  height  and  courts  at  least  two  inches  in  least 
dimension  for  each  one  foot  of  height  above  the  curb  level. 

E-Districts:  On  an  interior  lot  a  residential  building  with  its 
porches,  wings  and  accessory  buildings  shall  not  exceed,  at  the  curb  level, 
more  than  50  per  cent  of  the  area  of  the  lot,  nor  on  a  corner  lot  more 
than  70  per  cent  of  the  area  of  the  lot,  and  above  a  level  18  feet  above 
the  curb,  the  building  shall  not  exceed  30  per  cent  of  the  area  of  an 
interior  lot  or  40  per  cent  of  the  area  of  a  corner  lot.  For  all  buildings 
yards  shall  be  at  least  five  inches  in  least  dimension  for  each  one  foot 
of  height  and  courts  at  least  two  and  one-half  inches  in  least  dimension 
for  each  one  foot  of  height  above  the  curb  level.  For  a  residential  build- 
ing the  depth  of  a  required  yard  shall  be  at  least  25  per  cent  of  the 
depth  of  the  lot  but  in  no  case  need  it  exceed  25  feet.  On  at  least  one 
side  of  every  residential  building  there  shall  "be  an  outer  court  along  the 
side  lot  line  for  the  full  depth  of  the  lot.  For  a  non-residential  building 
the  depth  of  a  required  yard  shall  be  at  least  15  per  cent  of  the  depth 
of  the  lot,  but  it  need  not  exceed  15  feet. 

All  Districts :  Where  a  boundary  line  between  any  two  districts 
is  in  the  middle  of  a  street,  a  building  facing  on  the  more  restricted 
side  of  the  street  may  follow  the  area  regulations  of  the  less  restricted 
side. 

Section  5.  Percentage  of  Lot  Occupied :  No  measurements  of  lot 
area  for  any  building  shall  include  any  portion  of  a  street  or  alley.  Any 
area  of  a  corner  lot  in  excess  of  5,000  square  feet  shall  be  treated,  for 
the  purpose  of  computing  the  percentage  of  the  lot  that  may  be  occupied, 
as  though  it  were  an  interior  lot. 

Section  6.  Yards :  At  and  above  a  level  18  feet  above  the  curb  of 
every  building  hereaftei  constructed,  except  for  buildings  in  A-Districts, 
there  shall  be  a  yard  opposite  every  part  of  a  rear  wall  that  is  55  feet 
or  more  back  from  the  nearest  street  and  which  is  back  to  back  with  a 
rear  portion,  more  than  55  feet  from  the  nearest  street,  of  any  other 
property.  Within  55  feet  of  the  nearest  street  no  rear  yard  or  part  of 
a  rear  yard  shall  be  required.  Except  as  otherwise  provided  for  Districts 
D  and  E,  the  depth  of  a  required  rear  yard  shall  be  at  least  10  per  cent 
of  the  depth  of  the  lot  but  need  not  exceed  ten  feet.  In  the  case  of  a  resi- 
dential building,  on  an  interior  lot,  such  yard  shall  extend  for  its  full 
area  down  to  the  curb  level,  except  that  the  usual  accessory  buildings 
not  over  18  feet  high  above  the  curb  may  cover  not  over  50  per  cent  of 
the  prescribed  area  of  the  yard. 

28 


Section  7.  Courts:  In  every  building  hereafter  constructed  in 
which  a  room  in  which  persons  live,  sleep,  work  or  congregate  is  required 
by  the  Building  Code  of  the  City  of  New  York  or  the  Tenement  House 
Law  to  receive  its  light  and  air  in  whole  or  in  part  from  a  court  or  yard, 
at  least  one  court  or  yard  having  a  window  opening  from  such  room 
shall  conform  to  the  requirements  of  this  resolution.  In  a  required  outer 
court  the  least  horizontal  dimension  shall  not  be  less  than  four  feet 
and  provided  that  the  length  of  no  required  outer  court  shall  be  more 
than  five  times  its  least  dimension.  When  a  court  is  located  along  a 
side  of  a  lot  or  plot  the  lot  line  shall  be  deemed  an  enclosure  of  such 
-court.  Where  a  court  opens  on  a  street  or  public  open  space,  such  street 
or  public  open  space  may  be  considered  as  part  of  that  court.  The  least 
horizontal  dimension  of  an  inner  court  in  any  given  district  at  any  height 
above  the  curb  shall  be  not  less  than  that  required  for  a  yard  in  the 
same  district  at  the  same  height,  provided,  however,  that  a  court  of 
equivalent  area  may  be  substituted  for  such  required  court  provided  that 
for  such  area  its  greatest  dimension  be  not  more  than  twice  its  least 
dimension.  Corners  of  prescribed  courts  may  be  cut  off  provided  that 
the  running  length  of  the  wall  at  the  angle  of  the  court  does  not  exceed 
seven  feet. 

Section  8.  Projections  in  Courts  and  Yards :  Every  part  of  a  re- 
quired court  or  yard  shall  be  open  from  its  lowest  point  to  the  sky 
unobstructed,  except  for  the  ordinary  projections  of  skylights  above  the 
floor  level  at  the  bottom  of  such  court  or  yard  and  except  for  the  ordinary 
projections  of  window  sills,  belt  courses,  cornices  and  other  ornamental 
features  to  the  extent  of  not  more  than  four  inches.  Open  or  lattice 
enclosed  iron  fire-escapes,  fireproof  outside  stairways  or  solid-floored 
balconies  to  fire  towers  not  to  project  into  the  yard  or  court  more  than 
four  feet  may  be  placed  in  the  required  yards  or  inner  courts. 

Section  9.  Buildings  and  Structures  Excepted :  Nothing  in  this 
resolution  shall  prevent  the  projection  of  a  cornice  beyond  the  street  line 
to  an  extent  not  exceeding  five  per  cent  of  the  width  of  the  street,  nor 
prevent  the  erection  above  the  limiting  height  of  a  street  wall  or  cornice 
of  a  parapet  wall  purely  for  ornament  and  without  windows  extending 
not  to  exceed  five  per  cent,  of  such  limiting  height  of  such  street  wall. 
The  provisions  of  this  resolution  shall  not  apply  to  the  erection  of  church 
spires,  belfries,  chimneys,  flues  or  gas  holders.  Where  a  cornice  or  a 
parapet  occurs  on  a  portion  of  the  street  wall  that  sets  back  from  the 
street  line,  the  mean  distance  from  such  street  line  may  be  added  to  the 
width  of  the  street  for  the  purpose  of  computing  the  projection  of  such 
cornice  or  the  height  of  such  parapet. 

Section  10.  Buildings  on  the  Same  Plot :  If  more  liian  one  building 
is  hereafter  placed  on  any  lot  or  plot,  or,  if  any  building  is  placed  on 
the  same  lot  or  plot  with  an  existing  building,  the  several  buildings 
may,  for  the  purposes  of  this  resolution,  be  considered  as  a  single  build- 
ing. Any  structure,  whether  independent  or  attached  to  a  building, 
shall,  for  the  purpo?c?  of  this  resolution,  be  deemed  a  building  or  a  part 
of  a  building.  If  two  or  more  buildings  are  erected  upon  contiguous 
plots  and  are  to  be  used  as  parts  of  a  single  factory  or  other  industrial 
establishment,  the  several  buildings  shall  be  considered  as  parts  of  one 
building  in  applying  the  provisions  of  this  resolution.  If  one  or  more 
buildings  not  facing  on  a  street  are  erected  in  the  rear  of  another  build- 
ing facing  on  the  same  street,  which  serves  also  as  the  sole  access  to 

29 


such  rear  building,  the  several  buildings  shall  be  considered  as  parts 
of  one  building  in  applying  the  provisions  of  this  resolution. 

Section  ii.  Existing  Buildings:  No  building  now  existing  or  here- 
after erected  shall  be  so  altered  or  enlarged  as  to  bring  it  in  violation 
of  any  of  the  provisions  of  this  resolution,  nor  shall  any  lot  area  be  so 
reduced  or  diminished  that  the  unoccupied  areas  shall  be  less  than 
required  by  this  resolution.  But  nothing  herein  contained  shall  require 
any  change  in  an  existing  building  for  which  a  permit  has  been  hereto- 
fore approved  and  the  construction  of  which  is  diligently  prosecuted 
within  a  year  of  the  date  of  the  permit,  nor  in  any  building  for  which 
plans  have  been  filed  at  the  time  of  the  passage  of  this  resolution  and 
a  permit  for  which  is  issued  within  three  months  of  the  passage  of  this 
resolution  and  the  construction  of  which  is  diligently  prosecuted  within 
a  year  of  the  date  of  such  permit.  No  building,  now  exceeding  the 
restrictions  fixed  by  this  resolution,  may  be  rebuilt,  except  in  accord- 
ance with  the  provisions  of  this  resolution,  if,  for  any  cause  whatever, 
it  is  wholly  or  in  part  removed ;  but  nothing  in  this  resolution  shall 
prevent  the  restoration  of  a  building  damaged  less  than  fifty  per  cent, 
of  its  structural  parts,  or  the  restoration  of  a  wall  declared  unsafe  by 
the  Superintendent  of  Buildings. 

Section  12.  Unlawful  Occupancy:  It  shall  be  unlawful  to  occupy 
or  permit  the  occupancy  of  any  building  hereafter  erected  or  enlarged 
and  maintained  in  violation  of  any  of  the  provisions  of  this  resolution 
and  other  than  provided  in  the  Certificate  of  Occupancy  issued  by  the 
Superintendent  of  Buildings. 

Section  13.  Enforcement;  Penalties:  This  resolution  shall  De 
deemed  a  part  of  the  Building  Code  of  the  City  of  New  York, 
and  each  superintendent  of  buildings  shall,  in  his  own  borough, 
enforce  its  provisions  and  the  rules  adopted  thereunder.  Any  and  every 
violation  of  the  provisions  of  this  resolution  or  of  the  rules  adopted 
thereunder  shall  subject  the  owner,  lessee  or  agent  of  the  building  or 
premises  where  such  violation  has  been  committeed  or  shall  exist,  and  the 
architect,  builder,  contractor  or  any  other  person  who  has  assisted  in 
the  commission  of  such  violation,  to  the  same  legal  procedure  and  the 
same  penalties  as  are  prescribed  for  violations  of  the  Building  Code, 
and  such  violation  shall  be  subject  to  the  same  legal  remedies  and  prose- 
cuted in  the  same  manner  prescribed  in  said  Building  Code. 

Section  14.  Modification  of  Provisions ;  Appeal  to  Board  of  Exam- 
iners or  other  constituted  Board  of  Appeal:  Any  property  owner  or 
citizen  who  deems  himself  injured  by  the  decision  or  action  of  the  super- 
intendent of  buildings,  taken  in  the  enforcement  of  the  provisions  of  this 
resolution,  may  appeal  to  the  Board  of  Examiners  and  the  decision  of 
the  Board  upon  such  appeal  shall  be  final.  The  jurisdiction  of  the  Board 
of  Examiners  shall  be  limited  to  the  interpretation  of  the  provisions  of 
this  resolution  as  applied  to  the  case  on  appeal,  but  the  Board  may  vary 
the  application  of  the  provisions  of  this  act  in  any  specific  case  which 
appears  to  them  not  to  have  been  contemplated  by  the  resolution 
although  included  in  it,  but  no  variation  in  the  application  of  the  resolu- 
tion shall  be  approved  unless  in  harmony  with  the  purpose  of  the  reso- 
lution, as  stated  in  Section  15. 

Section  15.  Interpretation;  Purpose:  In  interpreting  and  applying 
the  provisions  of  this  resolution  they  shall  be  held  to  be  the  minimum 
requirements  adopted  for  the  promotion  of  the  public  health,  safety  and 

30 


general  welfare,  including  the  saleguarding  to  each  plot  or  building  of 
a  minimum  opportunity  of  light,  air  and  access  and  the  safeguarding 
for  the  public  who  use  the  buildings  of  a  minimum  standard  of  light, 
air  and  safety,  and  for  the  public  who  use  the  streets  of  a  minimum 
standard  of  light  and  relief  from  congestion,  and  the  direction  of  building 
development  in  accord  with  a  well-considered  plan. 

Section  i6.  Tenement  House  Law  to  Control  When :  Wherever  the 
provisions  of  this  resolution  require  larger  open  spaces  and  permit  less 
height  or  less  area  of  the  lot  to  be  covered  by  a  building  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Tenement  House  Law  than  is  required  by  that  law, 
this  resolution  shall  govern,  but  wherever  the  provisions  of  the  Tene- 
ment House  Law,  Chapter  99  of  the  Laws  of  1909,  require  larger  open 
spaces  and  permit  less  height  or  less  area  of  the  lot  to  be  covered  by  a 
building  under  its  jurisdiction  than  does  this  resolution,  the  Tenement 
House  Law  shall  govern. 

Section  17,  When  Effective:  This  resolution  shall  take  eflect  imme- 
diately. 


31 


0'C€iffi^^fe>  _14OT1;>_500— '16 


